365

July 1, 2023
A year's worth of days doesn't seem like quite so large a number when broken down into smaller, or at least different, units. Coming off Bruce Goldstone's Zero Zebras (2022), Chung moves to bigger numbers with bright views of a dark-skinned, dark-haired child and a lion companion illustrating Paul's suggestions for turning a year into more manageable bits. Instead of 365 long days, for instance, individually depicted both in a calendar and a neatly arranged if dizzying block of lunar phases, how about thinking of a year as 365 "Good mornings" or 365 clean ("hopefully") pairs of underwear? Or, better yet, 52 sleep-in Saturdays or just 12 monthly themes for the class bulletin board? Or one birthday? At this point the progression spins around to offer more conventional options for measuring the distance between a birthday and the next--in hours (8,760), minutes (525,600), or seconds (31,536,000). The author doesn't get into seasons or alternative calendrical systems but does include enough astronomy to explain the necessity for leap days. In the end she moves beyond such objective measurements to counsel, perhaps wisely, taking a broad view by regarding the span as "1 marvelous collage / of 1 year / in the life / of you." (This book was reviewed digitally.) A bright, buoyant look at measurements, conventional and otherwise. (Informational picture book. 4-6)

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July 10, 2023
A year’s worth of days is a lot to wrap one’s head around, as signified by the 365 neatly numbered circles that fill the front endpapers of this chatty explainer from Paul (Little Libraries, Big Heroes) and Chung (Vrooom, Vrooom!). Revealing that a year technically equals 365 and a quarter days, the creators break the temporal measurement into more manageable segments, all portrayed in posterlike digital pictures starring a brown-skinned child and a bright yellow lion companion. Sure, a year can represent “hopefully, 365 clean pairs of underwear,” but it can also be “52 get-naked-and-SPLASH Sunday baths” (the lion dives head first into the tub) or 12 monthly “clean-the-fish-tank messes” (the duo imagine they are deep-sea divers). Even smaller increments exist, of course—though the creators acknowledge that thinking about a year as, say, 525,600 minutes “could drag on and on and on.” Ultimately, time is what one makes of it, and the book ends advocating for reflection over mere enumeration: “1 marvelous collage of 1 year in the life of you.” An afterword delves into calendars and adds plenty more about “how much can happen in one year.” Ages up to 8. Author’s agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content.

September 1, 2023

K-Gr 3-Paul takes readers through a year of familiar events to show various ways to imagine such a length of time. Are 365 ice cream flavors of the day, 52 Friday night movies, or 12 monthly bulletin board displays easier to visualize? Chung's digitally rendered illustrations capture the sense of whimsy these suggestions encompass. The Earth circles a sun that is actually the head of a golden lion. That lion beams outside the child's window each morning but also joins in the fun activities throughout the year. When the text mentions 365 clean pairs of underwear, the lion models a pair, posing like a bodybuilder in front of the washing machine. Monthly cleanings of the fish tank include the child and lion in scuba suits scrubbing the tank as 12 fish watch. The text explains that "8,760 hours might seem like forever" until the next birthday party; the fun accompanying image is a snail in a party hat creeping along with a gift box. Another scene includes the characters apparently playing marbles, but a closer inspection reveals that the marbles are laid out in a diagram of the solar system. Back matter includes an explanation of calendars and facts on topics such as the average number of hours spent in school or how many times teeth are brushed during a year. VERDICT An excellent book to introduce the idea of timekeeping and calendars with humor and personal connections.-Suzanne Costner

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2023
Grades 1-3 A boy and his expressive lion sidekick take readers for a spin around the earth to learn about increments of time in this enjoyable math-concept picture book. As short, concise text explains that the 365 days it takes to travel around the sun make up one year, the boy and lion offer visual antics, such as scooping 365 ice-cream flavors of the day, in vibrant digital scenes with reoccurring outer space motifs. The duo then breaks down the year into smaller increments, from 52 weeks to 12 months. After the lion celebrates a birthday, they wonder how long until next year's celebration. The answer is 8,760 hours, which seems like a lot, but the numbers only get bigger as they determine minutes and seconds. A final scene asks readers to ponder how they will count their year. A concluding spread offers one more method of counting time (with calendars) and fun ways to estimate a year's worth of other things, such as 1,095 meals and 250 hours in the bathroom!

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